Glossary - O

Online banking

Internet or online banking has become quite popular. One of several methods of direct banking is client contact with the bank via a web interface, in addition to WAP banking and telephone banking. With Internet banking, clients can manage their bank accounts online (for example, determine current balances, enter a single or standing payment order, etc.). From the perspective of the client, the main advantages include fast, easy and inexpensive access to their accounts. The disadvantage, in some cases, may be security problems because the information and commands are transmitted from an often poorly secured client computer via an ordinary Internet connection. WAP banking and telephone banking also have their security risks, but today most banks have resolved security problems through an encrypted connection using the https protocol and comparisons of the internet keys stored in the client computers and servers at the bank.

Most of today’s tactics for attacking online banking are based on deceiving the user in an effort to steal login data and valid TANs. Two well-known examples to facilitate the gathering of this kind of data are phishing and pharming. Cross-site scripting and keylogger /Trojan horses can also be used to steal login information. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use good antivirus and internet security applications to prevent financial loss. Some banks are trying to find a security solution that won’t be annoying for both the client and bank, such as using a mobile phone for sending request codes for every online financial operation within the account, through a short message service.

Online organizer

With the increasing popularity of the Internet in the 1990’s, many people began to use online diary planners, typically for business purposes. However, once users realized how easy it is to manage notes, meetings and tasks online, a significant number of people began using online organizers for personal purposes as well. Online organizers are becoming more and more popular due to the fact that many people have mobile phones, and wireless internet connections are now widely available in public spaces. A good online organizer enables users to manage various business and personal events via a browser or other graphical interface. Most organizers can display information that has been entered regarding a specific event, including its importance to the user, and provide notification to the user when an event is about to begin.

Online shopping

Online shopping is an Internet commerce where goods and services are sold B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumer). It is designed with computer applications capable of offering and finding desired products, options to order and receive products, arrange payments and provide other information about products and help handle complaints. Users of electronic shops or e-shops may be allowed to browse a product catalog, search goods by listing specific parameters or by name, title or description. Individual products usually have a page with a more detailed description and list of specifications and available options.

The first online shops sprang up in the U.S.A. during the 1990s. Due to its speed and convenience, shopping on the Internet has become especially popular. Currently, e-shops offer a wide range of goods and services using advanced methods of payments and are becoming an equal alternative to bricks-and-mortar stores or shopping centers.

Open source

Open source or the open-source software (OSS) is computer software with open source code. In this instance, open refers to both the technical and legal availability of the code (software license) which allows users to use the source code (for example view and edit it) under certain conditions, as opposed to proprietary software. In a narrower sense, the OSS software license matching the definition is advocated by the Open Source Initiative® organization. To distinguish itself, open-source software sometimes refers to the requirements of the OSI - Open Source (with capital letters). The inaccurate, but relatively common expression of open source uses many properties that are not related to the source code, but appear in many open source programs. For example, it may be that the availability of free software is developed fully or particularly by the volunteer community and "No commerciality" is permitted.

In terms of security holes, issues or bugs in software, the code’s openness is a double-edged sword. Errors in the programs are searched for by a much wider group of people (or automated equipment) and therefore, in theory, it is easier to find and fix such problems. On the other hand, vulnerabilities can be found more easily by attackers. In the current information paradigm, “full disclosure” is generally considered preferable. When information is available to all, it is available to attackers too. At least in popular programs with a large base of users and developers, it can be expected that the "user’s side” has significantly greater resources (especially skilled people with more time) than a hacker.

OpenOffice.org®

OpenOffice.org® (“.org” was added due to trademark disputes) is an office suite distributed as open source software under the LGPL. Anyone may use the suite free of charge, and it is compatible with operating systems such as Microsoft Windows®, Mac® OS X® (porting helps finance the platform by Sun Microsystems®), GNU™ / Linux®, Solaris®, and FreeBSD®. All its components are translated into more than 110 languages​​ and there are translations available for the less common languages. OpenOffice.org® is a collection of different applications that work closely together to offer the functionality expected from a modern office suite. Many components have been created according to the features of Microsoft Office®. Version 2.0 fully supports and uses an open file format, OpenDocument (ODF), which was approved and adopted as ISO standard. It can even read, open and save files in many formats, including the proprietary formats of Microsoft Office® and the newly adopted ISO standard designed by Microsoft® OOXML. OpenOffice.org® competes with Microsoft Office® and offers users a similar alternative. One of the main benefits is the ability to read and write in most formats used by Microsoft Office® and other applications, which is a necessary function for many users.

OpenOffice.org includes the following programs:

Writer - word processor

Calc - a spreadsheet

Impress - presentation tool

Draw - Graphic editor

Base - database frontend

Math - a tool for creating mathematical formulas

Quickstarter - program that loads the Microsoft Windows® library and important pieces of code into memory in advance, making the program run faster.

OpenOffice.org® can even open files created in earlier versions of Microsoft Office® and can also open damaged files that cannot be opened in the newest version of Microsoft Office®. However, it cannot open files in the format used by older versions of Microsoft® Word for Macintosh® (MCW). Also, Microsoft Office® files are not always displayed 100% correctly.

Operation System

The Operating System is the most important software in a computer. The operating system enables initialization and runs the computer, manages computer hardware resources and provides services for the execution and managing of application software. In general, the operating system performs basic task, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the monitor display screen, keeping files and directories on the disk, and controlling the peripheral devices. The operating system is also the traffic cop assuring different programs or multiple users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer, from cell phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers. Well known operating systems are Microsoft® Windows®, Mac OS® X, Linux® and UNIX®.

Optical disc drive

Computers use disk drives that use laser light or electromagnetic waves for reading and writing data to and from the optical disk. Some drives are only able to read from disc, but nowadays almost every optical drive can read and write on CD, DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray mediums. Optical drives are usually used for archival or data exchange. ODD, along with flash memory, have made the floppy drive and tape player obsolete due to price, size and technical capability.